1 ¶ And the LORD spake
unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 Every man of the children
of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's
house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

2
- Pitch by ... standard . See on nu0152.
Notice the order in God's plan. They pitched by tribe and within tribes
by families.2 -
Far off All the family tents were at a great distance from the tabernacle
complex with the tabernacle (tent) inside. Within the tabernacle was the
holy place and the most holy place. In the latter, was the ark with glory
representing the divine presence.

3 ¶ And on the east
side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp
of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab
shall be captain of the children of Judah. 4 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand
and six hundred..5
And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and
Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar. 6 And his host, and
those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four
hundred. 7 Then the tribe of
Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of
Zebulun. 8 And his host, and
those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four
hundred..9
All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and
fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their
armies. These shall first set forth.

3 -
East ... rising of the sun The two terms had the same meaning although
the Hebrew includes.3 -
East side ... standard ... Judah They would have been directly in
front of the gate or entrance to the courtyard and the tabernacle (although
at some distance).7 -
Zebulun "on the other side. While Judah's tribe was the most numerous,
those of Issachar and Zebulun were also very numerous; so that the association
of those three tribes formed a strong and imposing van." (JFB).

10 On the south side
shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies:
and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11 And his host, and
those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five
hundred. 12 And those which pitch
by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of
Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 13 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three
hundred. 14 Then the tribe of
Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. 15 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six
hundred and fifty. 16 All that were numbered
in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand
and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set
forth in the second rank.

10
- South side The directions relate to the tabernacle. It was to
be approached from the east. The south side was to the left. Thus, with
backs to the sun in the East, worshippers would not be tempted to consider
that they were worshipping it. It was behind them. Sun worship thrived
on belief that this bright object as the god that provided light for the
crops to grow. Consider the rebellion shown to Ezekiel ez0816.

17 Then the tabernacle
of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the
midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man
in his place by their standards.

-

18 On the west side
shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies:
and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred. 20 And by him shall
be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall
be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two
hundred. 22 Then the tribe of
Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son
of Gideoni. 23 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four
hundred. 24 All that were numbered
of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and
an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third
rank.

18
- West ... Ephraim His tribe was not one of the ten original ones.
He had been blessed by the dying Jacob ge4152,
ge4620
and was considered his son. Ephraim was more highly honored than his brother
Manasseh ge4801-20.

25 The standard of the
camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain
of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and
seven hundred. 27 And those that encamp
by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of
Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. 28 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five
hundred. 29 Then the tribe of
Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the
son of Enan. 30 And his host, and
those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four
hundred. 31 All they that were
numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven
thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.

25
- Camp of Dan He was a son of Jacob and Bilhah ge3006,
ge3525.
He was honored here but later fell into apostasy and settled among the
heathen.

32 These are those which
were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers:
all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six
hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 33 But the Levites were
not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. 34 And the children
of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched
by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families,
according to the house of their fathers.